Life Meant to Linger
by Silvershadow471
Summary: L Lawliet hated to admit it, but...Kira had gotten him. However, a hidden rule of the Death Note comes into play, and L comes back as a ghost that only Light can see. Opponents are dangerous if they have nothing to lose, but L can't even lose his life. The notebook can't help Light now; he needs his wits, some paranormal insight...and a pretty good exorcist.
1. Endings

**Greetings. You may want to read this first to see if this fanfic is right for you:**

**Hello, and welcome to the Happy-Go-Lucky-Go-Wammy Trivia Show! No, wait, that's not right... Heh, I've been spending too much time on DeviantArt and YouTube and not enough time writing. Now, I'm new to the whole anime fandom in general. It's a funny story, actually, but way too long to put here. I'll just say I got into, possibly even addicted to, anime about a month ago when my friend said, "Hey, have you ever watched 'Death Note'? I think you'd like it!"**

**Now, I will say right now: I have watched the whole anime series, but I _haven't_ read the manga, watched the movies, or read the novels yet. _Yet._ Therefore, if L's history has ever been explained, I don't know about it and am making up my own theory. So there.**

**This chapter leading up to the rest of the story _will__ contain spoilers_ if you haven't watched up to episode 25 or read up to chapter 58.  
Rated T for Teen for: character death, possible mild language, supernatural mischief of sorts, etc.  
NOT Rated T for Teen for: yaoi. It's about L and Light, yes, but no yaoi. No romance of any sort, except for Misa just being Misa.**

**I know I should be working on my Sonic and video game fanfics (in Death Note speak, I'm a female version of Matt), but I watched the series and just had to write this! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy our feature presentation!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't need to put one, actually. No one does, but they do. This is FANfiction for a reason. Everyone knows we don't own anything.  
...Crap, I did put a disclaimer. Oh well.  
Oh, but that first sentence comes from a comic on DeviantArt by SilentReaper. It's funny; go read it.  
Wait, read this first, though! :)**

"Watari?"

L stared at the screen, even though he knew he couldn't see his elderly assistant through it. Watari had cut off mid-sentence with a gasp, and that alone worried L. When he didn't respond, L's concern and uncertainty grew to an uncomfortable level, something he didn't feel too often and didn't like.

His black eyes widened as he heard a weak and strained breath on the other end. "Watari!" he cried as the connection ended. In its place on the monitor were three words that instantly made L's face pale.

"'All data deletion'? What the hell's going on?" Shuichi Aizawa shouted as he, Kanzo Mogi, Touta Matsuda, and Soichiro and Light Yagami, the rest of the Kira Investigation Team, circled around the monitor in the center. L kept staring at the screen, keeping his face expressionless. The realization of what happened, though, failed to settle on him. He hoped it wasn't true, but the emergency screen on all of the monitors proved him wrong, bathing the room in an ivory glow.

"I told Watari," explained L, referring to the others with a hint of emotion behind his voice, "to make sure that he should erase all information in the event that something were to happen to him."

"'If something were to happen'?" Aizawa echoed, expressing everyone's concern.

"Could it be?" asked Matsuda. The air seemed to drop to chilling, morbid degree.

_It must have been a heart attack, _L thought quickly. He eyed the letters on the screen, running his tongue over his teeth. _We have Kira's notebook, so it must've been someone with the second Kira's powers and notebook. Either that, or…_

His head whipped toward former-Chief Yagami at his left. "Where is the shinigami?" he demanded.

Yagami looked over to Mogi as if he had the answer. "Good question; I don't see it," he said, glancing at the others in a frantic search.

"It disappeared! What's going on?"

L turned back to glare at the keyboard, tightening his two-fingered grip on his coffee spoon. _Light can't be the Kira that killed Watari, and the shinigami is the only other one that could at this time._

"Everyone!" he shouted while lifting his head. "The shiniga—!"

He gasped, the words getting stuck in his throat. Black-lined eyes grew wide as he felt one last rush of blood in his ears before the beating of his heart in his chest stopped.

Time seemed to slow as his body went limp. The spoon slipped from his fingers and he felt his swivel chair disappear from under him. He couldn't think straight, but he knew that Kira had gotten him.

How L hated to admit it, but…Kira had finally won.

_The bells…_

_I hear the bells. They've been ringing all day, actually. I find it rather distracting. Maybe they're for a church, or a wedding, or…_

They grew louder, ringing over and over again in his head. With each thunderous clang, they brought up memories that he'd forgotten long ago. Leaving them forgotten for a good reason, those memories: an eight-pointed sapphire star, its image immortalized in hued glass for children without families.

He was rendered breathless already, but the image only led to more surprising pictures, and a more depressing time.

The glass changed and lightened, now tinted with emeralds and golds that laid filtered sunshine on the ground.

Through the glass, he could see an empty sidewalk behind a black iron railing. That sidewalk always tormented him. To some, it might be uninteresting.

Walking along that path offered L a new life as a child. And now that life was ending, just like that, with a pen, eight letters, and a notebook. To think a life could be taken away so easily.

Too bad it had to torment him and be so damn slow.

Behind the clamor of the bells, he heard a cry. Faint, but the sound rapidly became recognizable as children ran in front of the glass. Children L used to know. Especially one young boy, standing off in the shadows. He sobbed again, crying over the sound of the bells now. Tears had already stained his face, and the other youths avoided him, glancing at the boy and scurrying away.

L felt weightless, even though his chest clenched to an uncomfortable, somewhat painful level, slowly erasing his existence. His mouth hanging slightly agape, he was able to make out a shocked face watching him.

_Yagami_.

It was Light Yagami in front of him.

The clang of the bells grew even louder as L lost strength. More stained windows replaced Light's face, with spacious cathedrals, excited playing kids, close-cropped foliage, and the lone, crying child. Over and over again.

Seconds, moments, or possibly even minutes later, the picture and sound of the boy's whining grew fuzzy as L lost all feeling in his being, slipping from the real world and struggling to keep his eyes open. He gave one last desperate attempt at an intake of air when a last, vivid memory was shown to him: A child, his short, black hair highlighted in sunshine, standing out on the sidewalk, hand-in-hand with an all-too-familiar adult. Laughing…

As fast as it came, it dissipated, filling him with unbelievable warmth. Once again, L saw Light over him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of him this time. His mahogany eyes had narrowed, almost looking blood-red, to give him a smug look, and he was smirking.

_He wanted this to happen._

_Light Yagami _is _Kira…_

_I—I was right all along. I knew it…_

_But…I…_

He didn't even attempt to say anything as his eyes finally, silently slid closed and the bells faded away. He barely heard one of the men shout, back in the real world, "Ryuuzaki!"

_It…It's not Ryuuzaki,_ he thought quietly to himself for the last time. _It's Lawliet. L…Lawliet._

After that, the warmth went away, and he knew no more.

**Yes, this takes place during the time jump between 2007 and 2012. And it goes by anime dates/years. This is the scene from the show, so I didn't make much up myself, but it was a recap for the rest of the story.**

**Now I know that half of L's little 'life-review' memories aren't canon, but I wrote this without a copy of the episode at hand and had to go on memory. Let's just say some of L's flashbacks were cut from the episode for scripting reason to make it easier for me. Thank you, and the next chapter will be up shortly! Of course, if you know me, I tend to take long on updates... Well, HA! I already have the next chapter pre-typed! I'm so proud of myself!**

**~Silvershadow471**


	2. Nostalgia

**Merry Christmas! Another chapter! I am liking this story, so far. Just a note: I have just started watching anime (only 'bout a month or two ago) and studying a bit of Japanese. I actually got the first two volumes of Death Note from my parents today! But, point is, I have found multiple spellings of these names, and the thing I still don't quite understand is the double vowels. If I spell any of these names horribly wrong, then please tell me.**

"Ryuuzaki!"

L groaned. "Ngh…It's not…Ryuuzaki," he muttered, barely audible.

There was a sigh from his right. "L, you're alright. I was worried."

_Wait a minute. That's Watari. _L opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and sat up. The aforementioned mustachioed man was sitting next to him, smiling at his movement. He couldn't help but stare at his assistant and wonder what happened.

"Watari?" L finally asked in little more than a whisper. Watari chuckled and laid his hands on L's shoulders. They were solid hands, made of warm flesh, gripping his shoulders that were covered with his white shirt. Everything felt real enough, but after what had just happened…

"Watari," he asked again, "didn't you…die?"

A quiet sigh was all the detective got in reply, unnervingly confirming his suspicions. L kept silent for a moment, watching Watari as if he would disappear when he looked away. Every detail, every color in his face was the same. This man just couldn't be dead.

"I'm afraid that since you are here as well," the elder finally commented gravely, the smile falling from his face, "you may also be one of the departed souls now."

"And I believe that as well, as improbable as it sounds." L paused. He thought it over, and that was the only answer he could believe now. He dropped his head and gripped his knees until his knuckles were as white as his shirt. "I saw—no, heard your last breath before you deleted all the information. Seconds later, my chest tightened, I couldn't breathe, and I…"

Watari gave L's figure a gentle shove to cut him off and lift his shaggy black-haired head to look at ebony eyes. "Please, L," he whispered, "don't finish that sentence." Then his thin lips curled into yet another one of his smiles, and he added, louder, "Did you even figure out where we are?"

Unblinking, L kept his merciless gaze on his elder for a minute longer before rising to stand, Watari right by his side. The ground was cold on his bare feet, possibly marble of some sort, and the part of the room they were in was dimly lit. There wasn't anything of importance among the furniture: a couple of chairs, a sofa, two lamps, and a coffee table, all of them a faded forest green.

_It's just a plain room, _he thought, _but this faint warmth seems almost familiar._

Black eyes immediately fell on the doorway to a more spacious area of the building. The light bouncing from all of the creamy ivory-colored walls was practically golden. From his vantage point, L couldn't see anybody, but children's voices could be heard from outside. The only distinguishing feature was a towering stained glass window depicting a sapphire blue star.

"The orphanage…" He couldn't take his eyes off the painted glass, and just then standing in his childhood home seemed more unbelievable than his death. Hands in the pockets of his jeans, he took a few steps into the light, only half the height of the window if he stood up straight. "How did we get back here?"

The mind of the world's best detective was normally quick and responsive, but he couldn't make any sense out of their situation. The sapphire points of the star slowly turned to a lighter golden-cobalt in the light, and the ringing of bells rattled the building as they marked the hour.

L felt Watari's arm fall over his shoulders as they stood together. "This orphanage was always one of my favorites," the founder commented wistfully. "There were so many children to love; so many embers to care for and kindle, until they were flames, burning warm and bright for all to see."

L looked over at him to ask for the importance of his little speech, but caught a glimpse of two figures to their left that rendered him utterly astonished. A small child, no older than eight or so, was standing next to another open doorway, his eyes outlined in red from sobbing. His close-cropped black hair and black eyes stood out against lightly-toned skin, and he was listening to the words whispered in his ear by a man kneeling beside him. The older one was in his forties or fifties, with his graying mustache in a smile as he comforted the boy.

Then he leaned over and embraced the boy, much to the little one's surprise, but his black eyes slipped closed, and he quickly returned the hug.

"I can't believe it," L finally said. "It's you and…me…"

Watari had turned to watch too. "Ah, yes, it would appear so. Your hair was so short then, and you had never even tasted anything with sugar in it.

"That is why I like this orphanage the best: I'd found a child to take as my own."

The other two people in the hall stood, the older one holding the child in his arms. L heard Watari chuckle next to him as he pulled the shoeless, shaggy-haired, sugar-loving, shirt-and-jeans-wearing detective into a one-armed hug. "Now my son is the world's best detective, something that makes me so happy and so proud, in life and death."

L stayed silent and expressionless, but he liked the feeling of being loved. It was true that he was an orphan, everything except his name forgotten. It was true that he couldn't make friends, and he was the one that could never find a family as a child. But it was also true that the millionaire founder of Wammy's House took him as his own.

A small smile crossed L's face as he heard his younger self giggle with glee. The past pair turned to walk off when they caught sight of L and Watari, staring at the previously-unseen spirits. Watari and Quillish Wammy, present and past, were grinning as they held their sons. L laughed softly as the boy's dark eyes grew, but they lightened as he started giggling at L's smile. "He has black eyes like me, Mr. Wammy!" he said excitedly to his new father.

"I remember seeing us together, L," Watari told his son next to him. "And I know it meant—"

"—that this was meant to be," the past Watari finished for his older self, glancing between the pair ahead and the young child in his arms. The golden light in the air from the window got more intense, almost solidifying as the last bell's chime echoed away.

The silence draped the room for a calming moment before their past selves turned to leave, Wammy nodding in understanding and the child craning his neck to catch another glance of L. "A little nostalgia was a nice start to an afterlife, Watari, but what are we going to do now?" L asked quietly as they left, fingering the hem of his shirt.

Watari let go of his shoulder as he ambled into the dim room they showed up in, though the sinking sun gave more light that illuminated the interior. L followed him in, scratching the back of his head and at a loss of ideas of things to do next. "What is going to happen to us now?" he asked again.

"When souls leave the ties to the world of the living behind, there are two places they can go to," was the reply. "And each person knows where they are destined."

L dipped his head in acknowledgement. "The judgment between heaven and hell." He rolled his shoulders, put his left hand in his pocket, rested his right thumb against his bottom lip in thought, and rubbed one foot against his shin, looking strange to those that didn't know it was common behavior for the young male. "I know where I am supposed to go, but what about you? There is nothing you haven't done for a good cause."

"I belong among the angels. Don't worry about me, L." Watari looked back, and he'd dropped the smile for a solemn, serious expression. "I need to inform you about _your_ future."

Keeping quiet, L prepped himself for the worst, watching Watari approach to stand in front of him. "Do you remember the rules of the Death Note?" Watari asked.

"Of course."

"The human who uses the notebook can neither go to heaven nor hell," he explained, straight from the book.

L could guess what he was getting at. "I never actually used the notebook, though."

"And I never said you did. I'm quite glad that you didn't, actually." He paused, looking away, struggling with words. "How do I put this? The Death Note gives its user an advantage over their opponent, but at a steep cost. In order to properly determine who the better man is in a battle, they have to eventually be equal at the end.

"L," he demanded, gripping L's shoulders and fixing his serious gaze on him, "do you know who Kira is?"

The immediate image of Light Yagami smirking as L's life slipped away made his face harden, his jaw line set and angular in the light. "Watari, I have always known who Kira is."

"He had power over you, making it your weakness," his assistant explained, "but his win was unjust, making the battle between the two of you incomplete. The other victims had nothing to do with this; the war between Kira and the world was always just between you and Light, ever since the day you challenged him on television."

Watari sounded a bit tired, his age betraying him. "The individual against the Death Note's owner is given the chance to use its only disadvantage to finish the war."

"But I don't understand." L was lost. "You're going to heaven now, but you're making it sound like I can't go anywhere yet." Watari's voice made it obvious to the detective that he didn't want them to part, but Watari would only do things for the good of others instead of for himself. It sounded like L had to go back and try to catch Kira again.

Watari sighed. "You are destined for more, L. More than many before us."

"How do you know, though? Did you know we were going to die?" he asked, curiosity and other mixed feelings welling up as he tried to think through this like usual, dropping his hand and nestling it in his other pocket.

"I didn't know when we would pass, but I knew it was always meant to happen. My life is meant to start anew in heaven." The area behind the old man started to lighten, the back light making his face hard to see. "However, your life is meant to linger down here for a while longer. You're a smart young man; I know you can understand."

L shrugged off Watari's hands and stepped back, trying to stand up a bit straighter. "I know. I am the only one who even suspects Light Yagami as Kira anymore, and I still have to fight against him. I'll figure it out. You should go, Watari, and I hope to join you soon."

Watari laughed, the gleam back in his eyes and the light melting into a pathway through the wall in the back. "Just remember: the most dangerous opponent is the one with nothing to lose." He stepped back, bathed and illuminated like an angel. "You are justice, L."

He clenched his hands in his pockets as the gateway and his father dimmed rapidly, soon disappearing. Tears pricked his eyes for the first time in years, but he took a deep breath and pushed them away, slouching again. "I am justice," he whispered to himself.

L swiveled around, startling the young boy with black hair peering around the corner. Their eyes met, and the latter hung his head and reluctantly stepped into the room. "I—I'm sorry," he begged, "I just wanted to see you, so I came, but you were talking to that man, and—"

"Sorry for what?" L asked, sitting on the floor in front of the child in his usual manner, bare feet balancing his crouching form and pale hands laid on his knees. The boy was cut short and he looked up, stepping back when ebony black eyes appeared in front of his face. "Curiosity is an emotion you shouldn't fall for without a proper reason."

"Proper?" He thought about it for a moment, and then asked, "Would a proper reason be to ask some questions?"

L could see his face start to tense in nervousness. "If you have questions, you can ask anyone. It's a proper reason if they answer."

He could tell the kid didn't even bother trying to decipher what was just said, and L asked with another small grin, looking much like a panda bear, "Didn't you just give me a question to answer, though?"

"That doesn't count!" he protested, glaring up at his elder in annoyance, but after thinking about L's question, his pale face softened to embarrassment, and he muttered, "Well…"

"What was it that you wanted to ask?"

His young black eyes stared at L, keeping unreadable and silent for a long moment, eventually looking almost scared. His voice was quiet, almost quivering from the strain of speaking. "Was that man really Mr. Wammy?"

Something seemed to snap into place: This boy was L's younger, past self, which meant this had happened to L before. His raven hair fell in front of his eyes as he continued to stare at the child. He could remember every detail now: the time of the day he was adopted, the ringing of the bells, and even seeing two older onlookers. He remembered sneaking away from the dining room to see the strangers, only to eavesdrop on their conversation and watch one disappear. He remembered his conversation with the messy-haired man, almost word for word. Everything made sense now, and he should have seen this coming. Things like that tended to happened if L dropped his guard, even for only a second.

Normally, he would have worried about the possibility of one of those annoying paradoxes, but everything worked before, so L answered a simple, "Yes."

"But he was so much older!" the younger boy commented, a bit louder and more confident. "And if that was him, does that mean you're me? Are you from the future?"

L opened his mouth to answer, but the kid just continued, warming up on the subject. "But if you're from the future, what you were talking about didn't make it sound like time travel gets invented, and you called him something like 'Watery'…no, 'Watari,' I think. Where did he go, and why did he make it sound like you two died? Is that true? You mentioned someone named 'Kira' and a 'Death Note', too. What happens?" He stopped to breathe; L was a bit surprised that he had said all that. "Does that mean I'm gonna die soon, too?"

Once again there was silence, mainly because L wanted to make sure he was done before explaining. "Listen," he started, "I can't tell you your whole future. I can tell you that that was Mr. Wammy, and you and I are one and the same. It is true that we are your future selves, and thus from the future, and we did died. I can't tell you when or by what means, though," he added, leaning forward to stop the boy when he started to ask, probably scaring him as well. "However, there are a few things you should know that I can tell you:

"Living outside is more dangerous than living in this place. Outside, everyone can find something to use against you. Some won't, but don't take that risk. The only one you can trust is Wammy, your father now, and you two must keep together. Stay in the shadows, and never use your real name; go under multiple aliases."

"Is that why you called him Watari?" the boy asked, now greatly interested in the advice.

"It is." This was like an act: L was ready to make his exit, and he was addressing the next character with his final lines. "Even with aliases, only close allies and accomplices know them. Devote your life to studies, and avoid being social or having a relationship with anyone. Don't become close to anything or anyone. Be a threat to those who oppose justice, and know that the most dangerous opponent one can be is the one—"

"—with nothing to lose," he finished, nodding. "I heard. I think I know what you're saying, but won't people think 'L' is a weird name? Won't I be pestered about that?"

"If you must, use the name 'Hideki Ryuuga.' 'L,' on the other hand, will soon be the name of the greatest detective in the world." L grinned just a tiny bit more as he thought of his accomplishments. "I was the first-, second-, and third-best detectives in the modern world and could solve any case that surfaced."

The young child gasped as he heard his future unravel. "How can you be three different people, though?" he asked, trying to process everything his elder said.

"Don't worry: you'll figure it out. That will be you in a few years' time."

He blinked a few times, black eyes never leaving L. "But what about this Kira person? And how you said 'Light Yagami is Kira'? What happens? Does this 'Death Note' kill you or me or something?"

The back of L's neck started tingling, traveling down his spine when he straightened his knees to stand. "Two thousand and six: that is the year that the whole mess starts in. Everything will work out. Don't try to change it."

The young L looked like he had more things to ask, but L felt his skin begin to prickle under his white shirt. "This is where it all begins for you," the messy-haired elder told him. "You're going home soon, so treat yourself to something nice tonight. Have some dessert, for starters. I suggest trying the strawberry cheesecake." His gaze drifted to the window, admiring the rich color. "That's right: today's Friday. Isn't dinner starting soon?"

"Oh no!" the child gasped, turning on the spot and sprinting off, suddenly hearing the sounds of the small dinner bell they used. Soon he slowed and twisted around, swiftly stepping back to the doorway. "Wait!" he cried, gripping the side of the wall with small hands. "I—"

The setting sun lit up the previously-dim room, shining upon young L Lawliet's pale face and ebony eyes as he gazed in surprise at the glittering dust, swirling and dancing in the center of the old, empty room.


	3. Beginnings

**Hello again. This might be my last update of 2010. Probably will be, knowing how fast I get things done. It's kinda scary, how quickly the year went by. Of course, I always think that at the end of the year. But I've been on FFnet for ten months, and it's surprising. To me, at least. I remember hating writing as a kid, and even up until last March. Then my friend kept talking about Fanfiction, so I finally had to check it out. I am so glad I did.**

**Oh, and now, towards the bottom of my profile, I have typed up story descriptions of my fanfics. Life Meant to Linger is the last one at the moment, with a better, more descriptive summary than the 250-or-so character one I have. So, yeah, I'm glad to have another chapter up, and I can't wait to get started on the next one! *sneaky smirk***

***Cue chapter!***

A gentle breeze wisped through L's hair as he felt his feet come to rest on the old stone in front of Wammy's House. The sensation running down his spine had stopped, though a nauseating feeling had blossomed in his stomach, making the world spin.

After L's younger self had run off, the room was engulfed in another bright light, blending all the colors together into a murky spectrum. He could feel air rushing by him, yet it didn't ruffle his hair or baggy clothes in the slightest. It actually felt as if was moving through him, but nothing was certain about that. The chill in his being felt insubstantial, tearing every fiber apart but still barely keeping them together. It was instantaneous, though if L had time to react, he didn't think he could. It was a strangely curious sensation; it was odd and different, but no more than that.

Obviously L's last meal didn't agree with his newfound form of transportation. It was over as quickly as it started, and he was dropped in front of the orphanage, feeling whole again and sick. A quiet hiss through his teeth escaped him as he doubled over, clutching his head and blinking away black spots. Once again, it was over almost as soon as it started, but he didn't make any motion to move, lost in his thoughts as solid-colored eyes unfocused.

The stone under his feet was there, but it should have felt like ice to his bare skin. Instead it felt like L was standing on a net. There wasn't any warmth to the ground—or the air, for that matter—but there also wasn't any heat-sapping cold. It was supporting him, but it just didn't feel like there was anything else there.

The same went for his body: it held a constant temperature that couldn't be defined as hot or cold, and there wasn't the thrum of blood pulsing through his veins that represented life. Yet he was still there, wasn't he?

L rubbed a tuft of his hair between two fingers. He felt as if his form was made of something in between solid and liquid states. His hair and skin were solid enough to be felt, but, again, that was all there was to it.

Now that he thought of it, breathing was an optional action. L had gone without a taste of oxygen for a few minutes and he didn't notice until then. It was entirely voluntary, but also unnecessary. He took a deep breath, dropping his hands to his jeans pockets. The autumn air wasn't cool, crisp, and scented as it filled his nostrils. He could barely feel it at all.

_It must be because I'm not a living human anymore,_ L concluded, letting out his breath in a sigh. _Being a spirit must mean I don't have human senses._

He shook it off, turning and walking away from Wammy's House, with its multicolored windows and gray stone. If he let his loses get to him, it would drive him crazy for the rest of eternity. _This whole day is crazy, _he thought. _I woke up, had some coffee, and died. That doesn't seem very fair to me at all, now does it? It seems physically impossible for me to still be here, let alone be in England instead of Japan._

L glanced around as his stroll took him across the street and through the green of a park. _How did I even get here?_ If he had died in Japan, then shouldn't his soul have come back to Japan?

Eventually, he decided that England was where his past self had lived, and he had simply gone forward in time to present day, not moving from the spot.

_It doesn't matter. England is better to wander around aimlessly in than Japan, anyway. _His wide, unblinking eyes watched the citizens as they came and went, passing by without a glance his way. As he thought about it, quickly leaving the place through the side gate, L didn't need to blink either. He could, of course, and he did a couple of time to check his theory, but the action was no longer necessary. _Weird, _the detective simply thought._ This whole spirit thing is going to take some getting used to._

Even more people passed him as he traveled down the street. L watched them, becoming aware of how different from the world he really was. Nobody looked at the barefoot, slouching guy as he ambled by. It was as if they couldn't even see him. L's suspicions were confirmed when one woman came close and ran into his shoulder, actually going _through_ his arm like mist.

A chill ran up to his shoulder as the white of his sleeve solidified again. His body rigid, he watched her walk on, completely unfazed except for her rubbing her forearm as if it was cold. _My, this is odd._ _I don't seem to exist._

He continued to watch her, standing invisible and intangible in the middle of the sidewalk. She had a long business dress on, but it looked to L like it had a haze around it, making the colors and edges smudge. Her whole figure had that aura around it, giving her an unreal quality.

In fact, everyone looked unreal. It was like L was watching them from behind a steamed-up window. Everyone and everything wasn't as sharp or vibrant as he remembered. The sky was like one at daybreak or twilight, though it couldn't have been too far from noon. Lines weren't very distinguishable from each other, colors were toned down, and people were just…different.

The woman turned, going around the corner, the building concealing her from L's view. He thought it over for a moment and then continued on his way. _How very odd..._

* * *

An hour of walking later, L looked up from the ground and stopped. He had traveled to the northeast part of the city, to the airport. The parking spaces in front of the large cement building were relatively empty, considering it was most likely a weekday. Well, he didn't actually know what day it was, but he didn't bother wondering about it as his feet took him closer to the building. He smiled to himself; he must have come here without being entirely conscious of it because the quickest way to Japan was through the air. _Helpful, _he commented_._

The pavement covered the land all around it, with no botanical life in sight, so L crouched down beside the building, his clothing automatically folding along the permanent creases in the fabrics. Even after constant movement for sixty minutes or so, he wasn't tired. His skin was still the same, ghostly texture, not sticky with traces of sweat and salt. His white shirt was dry, loosely handing over his form and following as his arm moved to his thinking position. It was so strange; there was no other way to describe it. He felt real. His clothes felt like their usual cotton and denim. There wasn't any heat, though. No heat radiated off of his pale skin. No nerve-prickling heat from the dark ground was felt through his bare feet. No sensations at all. It was…lonely, being the only one that had to live like that.

If you would count it as living. It might not even make it to 'existing.'

About that…

After a bit of contemplation and figuring, L though in his usual monotonous-but-curious way, _I'm not human anymore. I'm not even living the way they are. It is existing, but it must be in a different reality._

_The colors and angles are different and blurry. Is it because I'm not in the world, but only watching it? Is that also why I don't have any senses here? I don't breathe, blink, eat, or drink, as far as I know. I'm insubstantial, and only I know I am even here. To the others, I'm dead, though I doubt Light would let news of L's death slip to the public. If I know Light, he would take on the role of L to make it look like nothing happened. He would make it look like Kira and L were still at war, but no progress would be made. Kira will eventually win over the whole world that way. Damn bastard._

_If I'm here to stop Kira, then first things first: I have to find Kira. And Kira is on the other side of the continent. I have to catch the next plane to get there, but then I'll have to get in._ He glanced over to the entrance of the building. _Even the doors won't open unless they sense a human. Something as simple as that could propose a problem. And the people, the living…_

_Their beings are hazed, almost glowing with a faint light. Why is that? Everyone is different than before, especially their colors._

"Wait, start at the beginning again!"

L's head snapped up as a woman, possibly in her mid-twenties, stopped near his spot, leaning against the wall as she listened to someone over her cell phone. _She's just like everyone else, _the detective though, watching her with solid, unblinking eyes. _Her skin and clothes are hazy, with duller colors. However, either she has terrible taste in personal style or her hair is bright orange for another odd reason._

Unlike the rest of her person, her elbow-length hair was vibrant, almost neon, tangerine. It had a haze encircling it, but to a weaker extent, allowing the color to be brighter in L's eyes.

She turned around, laughing softly and staring at the cement of the wall above the young spirit. Her eyes, as well, were orange, with colored irises and pupils that were lightly dusted with the tangerine. Her face even looked to be shadowed in it, at a certain angle.

Everyone had a bright color in their hair and eyes to contrast the other dull shades. The man walking across the pavement to his car had the same bright silvery hair and skin as the paint job on his hybrid. A group of teenagers, chatting and howling with drunk-sounding laughter, ran by the road, each one draped with haze and neon hair: one had similar bleached orange hair, one had a pine green shade of knots on his head, two had longer, violet hair, and the last was lit up in striking gold.

L's feet rubbed together, only barely feeling the contact in his current state. _It looks like each person has a color to represent themselves. People with the same color must have similar personalities, or possibly similar goals._

He ran his hand through his mess of hair. He got to the ends of his bangs and pulled them down in front of his eyes, screwing them up a bit to see.

Blue. His hair wasn't raven black, but cobalt blue, meaning that his eyes must be a solid dark blue as well. _Why is it that everyone looks like this, though? Is it because I'm a spirit and in another plane of reality, so I can only see their souls? Do spirits have these colors? If their color represents their personality, then it could easily show on the surface without a physical form to obstruct its view. If that's true, then I can't see their bodies here; only their spirits. That sounds like a plausible theory, at the very least…_

His attention fell back on the woman ahead of him as she started away, striding over to the front entrance. "Okay, hold on," she told her caller. "I have to get my ticket. Roy already has our stuff, and he's probably already boarding the plane. It's about time."

The doors slid open. With nothing else to do, L pushed himself up and sauntered in after her. The doors shut right behind him, cutting off the outside world. It was a typical business day, with noise, lines, and probably uncomfortable warmth. He couldn't be sure on the last one, though.

L closed his eyes, clenching his hands in his pockets and shuffling after the orange-haired lady. All of the different colors and blurred shades in constant motion was enough to give him a headache. If he could get some, he needed a cup of coffee with extra sugar. Being back in the human world without being able to drink coffee would be worse for L than hell.

"Hey, stop treating me like that!" he heard the woman complain as she moved through the groups of people. L kept close, careful not to touch anyone. "It's always 'Marie, do this', and 'Marie, make sure to never, ever do that'. I can take care of myself, Mother." She laughed lightheartedly, running up to a guy with a pale blue suit and spiked maroon hair. He smiled with affectionate red eyes, holding up two marked slips of paper. "Roy has the tickets with him right now, so we're leaving for Tokyo in half an hour. _Sayonara, imouto_!" She giggled, flipping her phone closed and dropping it in the bag by the guy's feet.

_Japan, _L thought, smirking mentally at his luck. _Convenient._

"'Imouto', huh?" the man, Roy, commented, his smile slipping into a wide grin. "Even though I don't know much Japanese, isn't that a bit formal?"

Marie slung one of the bags over her shoulder, unknowingly swinging the edge of it through L's nose. It didn't cause any pain, but he rubbed it with the back of his hand in discomfort. "Not really, actually. Misaki's been through a lot in the last year. She's the one that still lives with our parents in Japan, after all."

They picked up the suitcases, Roy grabbing the last briefcase and heading towards the boarding deck with L in tow. "Besides," Marie continued, absently tracing a couple of kanji characters in the air with her finger. L couldn't make them out; her finger was blurred from his sight, and its movements were unclear to him. "Our sister went there last year, and she hasn't been seen since. It was so sudden, too. First her fiancé died, and then she wanted to be left alone for a few days. After that, she just disappeared."

Her orange hair shifted on her shoulders as she shook her head. "Even I'm not sure what could have happened."

"Hmm... Well, I'm afraid I can't give you my opinion on that 'til we get there." They stopped, handing the tickets to the guard by the door. Moving closer, L saw 'November 6, 2007' printed in shiny black ink, as well as '1.20 Flight to Tokyo, Japan'. Minutes later, they were stepping into the giant airliner. L managed to duck in through the door after them, leaning against the side of the wall behind the last row. After putting their luggage in the free space above, the couple took two seats in the second to last row. The doors closed, and with no one else boarding, L jumped into the last row, crouching in the seat.

Roy sighed in content, leaning back in the chair. Marie leaned her head on his shoulder, and he ran his fingers through her tangerine locks. "What was your sister's fiancé's name? Wasn't he an FBI agent?"

"Yeah," she murmured. "He was an American named Raye Penber. They found him dead next to the Yamanote subway line."

"Was he hit?"

"No, heart attack."

_Heart attack?_ L blinked in surprise; he had been following people who knew the agent? _Raye Penber… He was one of the FBI agents working in Japan to tail Kira suspects. He and all the other agents fell victim to Kira on that day in December. _He rubbed his lip with his thumb, trying to remember the guy face to no avail. _It must have been hard on his fiancée._

He stiffened, thumbnail caught in the crevasse between his teeth. _His fiancée…_

As if he had heard L, Roy asked, "Which Misora sister was he going to marry? Not Misaki or you, Mariyo, of course." L expected a light tone in his voice as he teased Marie, but it was heavy, foreshadowing that he knew the family well and already knew the answer. His head turned, and L could see regret in his maroon eyes as he kissed her brow.

"Naomi," she whispered, gripping his arm. "Naomi Misora, you are dearly missed."

"Naomi…" L repeated, pinching his lip. He briefly thanked the fact that no one could hear him and went back to the silence of his mind. _Naomi… So they still haven't found her. Since Penber died, she must have gone after Kira. If she was even a slight threat, which she was, she would have been killed. Light must have gotten to her soon after the agents died, probably during early January, and wrote that her body would never be found. 'Naomi Misora' wasn't in the Death Note, though… He must have used a separate piece of the paper. There's always that rule, though; the fake one at the end. But how to prove it's fake…_

A sigh escaped him as he laid his head on his arms crossed over his knees, eyes shut. The engine started up, and the announcements droned on over the speakers. Soon, they took to the air, en route to Tokyo. L didn't think he could get to sleep, or if he even could sleep. With hours to himself, he thought over what he was going to do once back in Japan. Alive or not, he was still the world's best detective, and he wasn't without a plan. "He who strikes first wins," he had said once. To Light Yagami, ironically.

He was back here to put an end to Kira, so that's what he was going to do. But how? No one could see him. No one could hear him, or touch him. Even if they could, no one at Task Force Headquarters, the ICPO, or anywhere else would believe that he was the deceased L, let alone that Light was Kira without solid proof; it was the same as before. It seemed like he could interact with physical objects, but they couldn't touch him if he didn't want them to. That was all he knew about himself at the time.

_This is going to be a bit complicated._

He didn't exist to the humans, nobody but a few even knew he was dead, and the only leads he had on his abilities were in myths, legends, and science fiction.

_Well, if ghosts are in fact real, than some of those myths might be true. There have been legends of ghost becoming visible to everyone, or a select few. They could walk through walls and solid objects. Most ghosts could fly, or levitate at the very least. That might be intriguing. Supernatural powers, telekinesis, telepathy, subconscious influence, possessing a human body…_

An idea sparked up, a plan of action already beginning to unfold behind it. …_Well then…_

**Well...there you go. New chapter. I don't really have anything important to say today. Just so you know, I don't technically have my fanfics beta-read. I tend to do that myself. I type the chapter up on Microsoft Word first. Then I proofread it, revising it to how I like it. After that, I upload it to the document manager, add my author note(s), and proofread it again for spelling/grammar. THEN I post it. (Edit: 12/15/13 Just read this through again for minor edits n.n ) I thought about starting to beta-read other people's fics, but I don't think I have the time. Maybe during the summer.**

**Oh, just thought of something to say while staring at Death Note Volume 2 laying next to me! Random Death Note fact: L is a Scorpio. Scorpio is ruled by the planet Pluto, which represents death. L died on November fifth, under Scorpio. Another thing is that November's birthstone is citrine, which is orange topaz (most Scorpio jewelry, like the bracelet on my wrist, is orange, too. It is usually considered a Scorpio color, though that part varies from source to source). The title of DN Vol.2, above L on the cover, is orange. Weird coincidences... I know that because I like astrology, and I know the most about Scorpio, since it is my own sign. :)**

**Next chappie up soon! Psyched to write it! And Happy New Year! :D**

**~Silvershadow471**


	4. Mourning

**Yay, another chapter! Okay, when I said I was so excited to write the next chapter (meaning this one), I actually meant the next one. This chapter and the next one were supposed to be together, but I wrote this and found a good place to stop after seven pages. I still liked writing this. Now we get to see Light in action! My brother helped me proofread this. He liked it, but now he won't shut up. He keeps trying to guess what happens next. He's horribly off, though. Hehe :)**

**You know, I just spent my whole snow day filling out school applications and writing essays. I finished this and proofread it only once so I could get it posted and still finish my homework. If there are any mistakes, I may proofread it again in a day or two, but any mistakes spotted can be commented about. As for storyline, Sachiko and Sayu don't know that the others were working with L. If they do actually know, they suffered from amnesia. I didn't want to go back through the episodes and check, and I'm only on Volume 5. Damn, what a way to spent a day off from school...**

He rolled his shoulder under the straps of his bag. It fit under his arm, the textbooks and general form nestled against his side. His strong fingers were curled around one strap, holding it gently enough just to make sure it didn't fall off. In his pocket was his other hand, which the young male put there after waving away two others and parting his brunette bangs. Soon after, he had to take it out, flexing his strong fingers before twisting the bronze doorknob and stepping into the Yagami household.

"I'm home," eighteen-year-old Light Yagami announced as he eased the door closed after him. Noise was coming from the living room, most likely from the television.

"Hi, Light!" his younger sister Sayu exclaimed happily. She was fifteen, so she usually came home a while before Light, parked down on their sectional in front of the TV with or without a small bowl of food. Some days their mother, Sachiko, had to drag her away to get her to finish her homework for the night. When Light came in the room, she looked up from her program, her pink glossed lips in a sweet smile. Her slender fingers were hovering over a bowl of candies at her side. They twitched towards a purple sugar-coated piece, but instead grabbed the bowl, lifting it off the cushion. "Candy?" she offered.

Her brother eyed them for a second before picking out an orange one and popping it in his mouth. He grunted in acknowledgement before stepping into the kitchen. Sachiko grinned at him. "Hello, Light." She had her apron on, and a thick transparent dish was in her hands. It was slipped into the oven before Light could make out what was in it. The scent was already in the air, and it smelled like a European recipe of some sort. There was another dish on the counter brimming with white rice and some steaming tea by its side.

"Uh, hi Mom." He swallowed the candy, savoring the taste of mango on his tongue. "Why are you making dinner so early?"

"Well, luckily your father is already on his way home." She moved across the room, taking out silverware and four sets of china.

Light was a bit surprised. "Why is he coming home early?"

She shrugged, saying, "He didn't mention why."

"Huh." The teenager grabbed the handle on the refrigerator, tugging it open. He half listened to his mother, telling him once again not to eat too much before dinner, as he searched through its contents. He pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip. The cool liquid numbed his gums and washed away the last of the fruity taste. "What's with the nice china and gourmet food?" asked Light, motioning towards the rice and polished tea pot.

Sachiko glanced over. "Soichiro didn't tell you?" She went back to her work when Light shook his head. "Hmph. He just said that he was coming home early and that it was a special occasion. He put in a request for English food, but I told him there was no way I was going out to get the ingredients for those soups and meats. Sayu suggested Italian, and I found some pasta and borrowed some stuff from our neighbors, so we're having a special dinner tonight."

Light found it a bit odd, but he took another drink from his water bottle, capped it, and slid it back into the fridge without another word. When he stepped back into the living room, his mother called out, "And don't you go upstairs to your room just yet. Your father said it was an important night, and he'd be home in a minute or two."

He suppressed a sigh, sliding his bag off his shoulder and letting it drop by the stairs. Turning back the way he came, Light took a seat on the couch by Sayu's feet, sinking into the cushions. The show was one of his sister's favorites, but he only found it a bit amusing. "What are you watching, Sayu?" he asked to start a conversation.

"A celebrity competition!" she replied happily. "Come on, Light, you know me too well! I've been talking about this for the last few weeks because some of my favorite bands are on. Hideki Ryuuga just finished another performance before you came home. You would have liked it."

Light smiled to himself, barely able to stop a fit of quiet, victorious laughter. "Yeah, I guess Ryuuga's alright."

"_Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk…"_ Raspy, hoarse-sounding chuckles sounded over the clamor on the television, coming from the shinigami hanging around the couch. Ryuk was a frightening sight to most humans, or he would be, but Light had grown used to the creature during the year he had already spent in the human world. No one else except Misa Amane, his accomplice and girlfriend, could see or hear Ryuk, and the shinigami seemed to be perfectly content with being Kira's invisible spectator. "You're thinking of L, aren't ya Light?" he asked in that inhuman low voice he had.

Light didn't answer so his sister didn't think he was mental. A smile was allowed on his face, though Sayu didn't notice. "Light, didn't your college entrance exams scores tie with a guy named Hideki Ryuuga?" she asked, sparing a glance back at him.

"Yeah; he was an odd guy."

She cocked her head to the side. "Did you ever get along with him? You two were like polar opposites up there at the podium."

His burgundy eyes closed as he leaned his head back. "...Yeah, for a while. Things didn't really work out in the end, and we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye."

"Aw, that's too bad!" She kept quiet, watching her idols for a bit before asking, "Was it because he supported Kira and you didn't?"

"In a way, I guess." Another laugh tickled the back of his throat. '_Too bad,' _he repeated to himself. _L called himself Hideki Ryuuga when we first met, but two days ago, I proved him wrong. He thought by using an alias, he was safe, but now… Ha ha! Now he's dead. 'Didn't see eye-to-eye'… Heh. All of those who don't agree with Kira face death, and unfortunately enough, Kira wasn't happy with the way L was treating his reign._

Sachiko walked over to them, untying her apron and folding it over her arm. "Okay, dinner time. The man of the house is home." The door by their kitchen opened, and she smiled as Soichiro Yagami came in, his weathered face looking tired. He sighed, from fatigue rather than annoyance, as Sayu jumped up and ran over to him. She gave him a kiss and hurried over to the table. Light pushed himself up and followed at a slower pace, greeting him as he took his coat off.

"Hey Dad." Light took his father's coat, frigid from the air, and hung it up next to the door. "I heard you requested an Italian dinner. Why's that?"

"Well," Soichiro began, his strong voice starting to catch up with his age, "I thought we should inform the family about our progress on the current case."

The brunette was actually a bit surprised at this. They had told the women that they were working on the Kira case, but everything else was kept confidential. His eyes must have shown off his confusion, because the elder chuckled. "Let's eat first," he said. "Matsuda and I were working hard today, and sometimes he's too eager for his own good."

Like father, like son. Heading to the table, Light added, "Well, that is one of his specialties."

* * *

Dinner was served on their nice china, with the decorative stained tea pot in the center. Sachiko said she had already made rice when she got the order for something else, so they had the rice on the side of Caesar salad and warm, cheesy lasagna that Sayu particularly enjoyed, especially when she was allowed to go overboard with the parmesan. Soichiro avoided the main reason behind their special meal, so it was the usual discussion for a while: how school was going, when they were going shopping for new clothes, when the electricity bills were going to be paid, how Light was getting along with his girlfriend, and small talk.

"Misa and I are doing well," Light commented, keeping his eyes on his rice. Behind him, Ryuk laughed again. They both knew Light found Misa Amane obnoxious (Ryuk never expressed his opinion), but he needed to keep her within his sight to use her. She had a Death Note as well, she was the person playing the role as the 'second Kira', and she had made the deal for the shinigami eyes. She was very useful during her moments. Unfortunately they didn't come often and made Matsuda look like an expert. "It's been going well for quite a while now. I actually asked Dad about something a couple days ago." He shook his hair out of his eyes and glanced up across the table. "Did you say anything about it?"

Sachiko nudged her husband. "What is it?"

A sip of tea later, Soichiro closed his eyes. "I guess I can't avoid it anymore."

"What is it?" She had a hint of fear on her face. "Are you going to do something dangerous? Please don't!"

"No, nothing like that." He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, but smiled a bit, trying to lighten the mood. "Light asked me if he could get an apartment for him and his girlfriend."

"Ooh! I knew it!" Sayu squealed, clapping her hands and grinned as wide as she could at her brother. "You do love her unconditionally! I bet she's the one, right Light?" Her brother rolled his eyes, but his sister loved all that romance stuff.

"Your own apartment?" Sachiko still held on to some uncertainty. "I'm not sure… Soichiro, are you okay with that?"

Their son finished his salad and put in, "Mom, you know I'm old enough for my own place. We were also going to be using it as our headquarters for the case."

"Headquarters?" Both Sachiko and Sayu asked, curiosity getting to them. The former questioned again, "Don't you already have a headquarters building?"

"…" He struggled with his answer before setting his jaw. "Alright, but you must know that everything I say now is secret, stuff we shouldn't be telling anyone. I feel that you must know, though."

"Dad…" chided Sayu, impatient. "We know all this: you shouldn't tell us, but you do, and we can't tell anyone else. What is it?"

Light kept quiet, munching on a lasagna noodle. "I think I see where this is going," Ryuk commented. His partner-in-crime nodded in silent agreement.

"Light and I," Soichiro started, laying down his fork, "as you know, are working on the Kira case, and we have been for almost a year. We are working with four other officers and we work—worked—under yet another person and his man."

Sayu appeared to be a bit disappointed. "But I thought you said you were leading the investigation, Dad," she whined.

"I was, at the police station, but our group went to work under him after most people dropped out. Unfortunately, I asked to have a special dinner tonight in order to honor those two. Kira had…found out on the fifth, only a few days ago, and they both were killed with heart attacks."

"Oh my, how horrible!" Sachiko whispered, her faced etched in with grief, horror, and empathy. Sayu looked a bit disturbed, but was more focused on her dinner. Light couldn't help but make a mental note about how sappy women can be. "Why didn't we hear about it? What were their names?"

"One was in the obituaries. His name was Quillish Wammy, age seventy-one." Without a word, everyone bowed their head a respectful mourning. The shinigami laughed again and made a comment about humans and their views on the dead.

Sayu gasped after a moment. "Wait, Quillish Wammy? I've read about him somewhere. Wasn't he that English multimillionaire? You worked with him?"

A nod confirmed her question. "The very same," Soichiro added, slowly eating a couple of mouthfuls of rice. "The other one was actually the leader, and he was Light's friend."

His eyes behind their square glasses looked up at Light, giving him the lead. He again had the urge to smirk and declare his victory over the world, but he just dipped his head. "He was in his mid twenties, and nobody knew his real name. Everybody just knew him as L."

There was silence, out of shock more than anything. Sayu's eyes grew wide as she looked between her brother and father. "…L?" her unstable whisper managed to utter. "A- As in, the ace detective L?"

They both nodded. Behind him, Light could here Ryuk shuffle back a few steps, another one of his fits of laughter throwing him into hysterics and breaking through the air. Sayu kept her stunned expression while Sachiko's face fell, realizing what it meant. "So you two boys got to meet and work with L, someone no one else has ever seen," she stated as a recap. "But now, L has died."

Her husband nodded once again, more slowly. "I'm afraid so." He sighed and poured himself some more tea.

"But…" Sayu was staring at her brother, her eyes showing off how frightened she was. "Then does that mean Kira…won? Is he the new overlord? Light?" she added when the brunette took his time consuming the last of his pasta.

_Yes, of course Kira is the new god, _he wanted to say, but Light knew how much his sister hated Kira. He swallowed and answered, "Yes and no, Sayu. Kira may have won the battle with L, but he still hasn't won against us."

His chair skidded back as he stood, his palms on the wooden surface of the table as he address his family. "From now on, I will be posing as L when he needs to make an announcement or appearance. The rest of us will continue to hunt Kira, for the sake of L and Watari. Dad and I are going to head the team, but we feel that the building shouldn't be used anymore. It was built by L for his purpose, and he died there. A smaller place would be better for our safety, and I offered using an apartment. I asked for a place for Misa and I, and that's the reason behind it."

Light grabbed his bowls and utensils, transporting them over to the sink before leaving them by the side. "I swore," he continued, striding to the door. He looked back when it was open, "that I would avenge L and Watari by finding Kira and sentencing him to death myself."

He tried to slam the door in a way that didn't look too strange for the usually-mellow university student. Grabbing his bag, he went up the stairs to his room, right at the top.

"Well, Light," Ryuk commented when Light turned the handle, "that was sure a performance back there."

"I do them so often now, it shouldn't seem like such a surprise," he replied when his door was shut behind him. He turned the lock with a click and threw his bag next to his desk. "I don't really like lying to my family, but it's better than my own father shooting me for being Kira."

Swiveling the chair around, he sat down and powered on his computer. The screen blinked to life, and he entered his password. "That depends on how you look at it," the shinigami added, dropping himself on the teenager's bed. "You would be doing the police a favor by turning yourself in. Got any apples? I couldn't grab one with your family around."

Light opened a web browser before bending over to his bag, leaving the page to load. An apple was found, and Light threw it back to the eager shinigami as the page came up.

His fingers found a pen in his bag, as well, and, twisting the cap off, he pulled the inkwell out. The right drawer was opened, the hidden bottom was lifted, and its contents were taken out. In his hand, Light Yagami held the key to Kira's power: a black notebook with lined paper, titled in white: _Death Note._

He marveled in its presence for only a second before dropping it on the desk, flipping open it's black cover and skipping to his last page. Three criminals were scheduled to die that day, and two more were already written in for the next. An Internet search later, Kira began reading about even more rotten people that should be killed. His fingers curled around his pen.

It wasn't ten minutes later that Light let the pen go, leaving it free to roll a bit as he leaned back in his chair.

Ryuk, munching on the last of the fruit, swallowed before asking, "What's up, Light? You haven't written many names in for a couple days."

"I've only done five today." His burgundy eyes closed as he dropped his head back on top of the chair. "One for each day from now. I figure that if I go easy for a bit, the drop in deaths will confuse the others even more. They might think that Kira is mourning L's death, or they might think that Kira planning something extreme and elaborate. Either way, with L gone, Kira doesn't have to work so hard and can have free reign over the world without some sleazy detective being a bastard and getting in the way."

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Ryuk's dry cackle came to again. "L Lawliet..."

"L Lawliet?" Light let a small snicker escape him; it seemed so weird that his archrival was actually named after a letter. "So that's his real name. I didn't even think to check what Rem wrote in her notebook. I thought I wouldn't be able to read it, since it was probably in Shinigami or something."

"Light Yagami."

The teen froze.

...Was he just imagining it? No, someone had said it, but his door was locked. No one came in, and he knew that voice all too well. That cool, collected monotone could only be pulled off by one guy. Light's blood ran cold as he kept stiff and swiveled his chair around. That guy was supposed to be dead.

"…kun."

**_Next chapter:_ What are L's true intentions behind his plan? How is Light going to handle the return of his rival? How do you know that L even returns? I've kinda just told you, so what will happen next? Will Kira be exposed? Will the other Kira victims come back as well? Will the others finally become aware of all the yelling Light does in his room and get suspicious? Can L get the coffee he's been wanting? Will Ryuk get another apple? Are you going to answer any of these questions? No! (You can decide which questions this answer is supposed to apply to).**

**~Silvershadow471**


	5. Revelations

**Hey people, long time no see. Has it really been a year and a half already since I updated this story last? Time, you move too fast. Anyway, the beginning half of this chapter has actually been written for well over a year, but I never got around to finishing it... So this chapter is thanks to Sonorous Serendipity, who asked for another chapter before the summer was out. Since I go back to school in exactly a week, I figured I should post this.**

**It's getting to be late at night, so instead of proofreading this four to six times like I normally do, I read through it while my computer read it to me. It was quite funny, and I think it worked well. ****So enjoy!**

Light set his hand on his desk, forcing his palm against the wood to spin his chair around. Dropping his feet on the ground, he held his weight on the forearm propped over his knees. Burgundy eyes glared expressionlessly through thin locks of brunette hair at the person by the door. The teenager kept a passive and unrevealing face, but under that, a million thoughts were running through his head: questions, theories, shocked disbelief, screams of frustration, deranged laughs of accepted defeat, and even a few that weren't sure what to think. All of them added to the ringing question that only sharpened his glare.

_!..._

_Why?_

_Why isn't he dead?_

Standing in front of the locked door was Light's archrival. L matched Light's gaze. He was there, plain as day, with his usual shoeless bare feet, pattern-less white shirt, and denim blue jeans. His back was slouched, and his hands were hidden within his pockets.

Unsure of how to fill the tense silence, Light asked, "Who are you, and how did you get in here?" He scanned the other over a couple more times, but he looked exactly like L. The only difference was the color of his messy hair and panda eyes; both were shades of blue instead of black.

L's pale lips parted to speak, but he never blinked. Not once. "Light Yagami, I do believe that's panic I see," he said, the words calmly slipping off his tongue. There it was: that monotonous, expressionless voice that frustrated Light so much over the past year. It took all of his self-control to not snarl.

"As for your question," L added, "it's not what you think." He straightened up, shaking some cobalt blue hair out of his eyes. Unblinking eyes. "That is, if you're thinking I'm alive."

Light snickered. "Oh, so now you're telling me that the ghost of a person that was killed by a shinigami has come back to the living world?" He shook his head and sighed, resting his chin on his chest. "Please. Don't make me laugh. I admit that you're pretty good at breaking and entering, but I should be unconscious or dead right now for it to have been successful."

"Who ever said I was breaking and entering?" L asked, wide-eyed. "I came in, but I don't believe I broke anything."

"You disregarded my privacy. Now I would appreciate it if you get out."

"Get out?" Head cocked, L stepped forward, observing the contents of the room in an interested fashion. Light growled and stood, but the other guy didn't notice. "This room seemed so much smaller on the surveillance cameras. I guessed it has to be big enough for you and your shinigami." L glanced over, studying Light's burgundy eyes for any change in expression.

Light didn't give him that pleasure. Ryuk, sitting seemingly inconspicuously on the teenager's bed, shook his head, cackling in his raspy voice. "I think you're busted, Light," the shinigami commented.

_I will be if you don't shut up!_

One cobalt-haired detective actually heard Ryuk and dipped his head. "Yes, I think that would sum up the reason why I'm here. Well put, shinigami."

…_Shini— Oh, come on! Now he can see shinigami?_

"Shinigami?" Light asked. He meant to sound curious and innocent, but it sounded more like disbelief. "You see…a god of death?"

L ignored him, staring right at the death god. "Shinigami Ryuk, I assume?" he asked, tilting his head off to the side. Ryuk simply nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, that's me." Even though the wild grin is practically permanent on his oddly demonic face, he might have smiled a bit more. "Don't be so formal, L. It was getting boring since you died. Glad you decided to show up again."

The muscle under Light's eye twitched when he tried to blink. L, his most dangerous enemy, had _decided_ to come back to life. The dead L was walking around like he was alive. He can see Ryuk, and he doesn't even appear to be breathing, but he's _alive_. _It. Doesn't. Make. Sense. _The dead don't just come back from the grave! That's impossible!

And worst of all, Light practically _gave_ L the confession that he was Kira; Light had wanted L to know his killer. L had only one suspect now, and that suspect was near hysterics.

L straightened up and glanced back at the teenager behind him. Said teenager looked ready to murder something slowly and painfully. "Oh yes, that's right," L muttered, sounding as if the fact that Light was there suddenly dawned on him. "Light-kun must be wondering why I'm here and not in hell, being tortured like he wished I would be in the afterlife." Light wanted to get away from that intense gaze, but he forced himself to stay still.

Eyes closed, he took a deep breath, warm air filling his lungs as he tried to collect his thoughts again. The pinkish-orange imprint of shaggy hair and round eyes was still burned into his retinas. "Look," he started slowly. He still had to try to get off L's suspect list. "I don't know if you are actually the ghost of L or not, but I never wanted him to die. He was my friend, and we both were working to catch Kira. However, the grim truth is that L is dead; the shinigami that we took in for questioning killed him and then disappeared."

"Light, you own a notebook that can kill people. I don't think a ghost should be too much of a surprise to you."

Light perked up a bit. So this guy admits to being a ghost. But ghosts aren't alive…

Before he could contemplate further, L wandered off in front of the windows. "This whole experience has certainly been odd for me. I could go on and document it all in a thorough science fiction novel, but I have never been much of a spirit enthusiast. However, I ran into an interesting pair at the airport outside London."

That…Light wasn't expecting; L really hasn't been dead for that long. He raised an eyebrow, the only change on his passive face. "…London?"

"Yes, London, as in the capital city of England in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." Blue hair fell back as L looked up at the sky, fingering his bottom lip with his thumb like he always did. "I caught a ride here on a departing plane, and after listening to this typical pair of newly weds for a while, I heard quite the tale.

"Did you know Naomi Misora still hasn't been found?"

A slight scowl twisted the teenager's lips. _Of course I did. She went off and killed herself so her corpse would never be found, _he thought to himself, _but Light Yagami wouldn't know that. If this is actually L, then it's a pretty poor attempt to get information._

"It must be hard on the family," L continued. "She disappeared in the very beginning of the year without a trace. The officials still file it off as a prolonged kidnapping because a body hasn't turned up yet, but they have absolutely no leads to work with. They say the last person to have seen and recognized her was her friend, a day or two earlier. However," he said quickly, "that's not actually the case.

"After the day she met with her friend, Naomi Misora was briefly seen in Tokyo by Shuichi Aizawa."

Light nearly choked on his breath. _Aizawa saw Misora? Then does that mean…_

"Oh, yes…" L tilted his head over his shoulder. Round cobalt eyes stared the teenager down. "Aizawa also said that Naomi was speaking to a teenager, who was focused on his note-taking. That means that the last person to be with Naomi Misora was you, Light."

He turned to the side. "See, 'writing' is the key term there. Before, when Aizawa told me, I didn't suspect anything. The normal person wouldn't think a mass serial killer commits his murders by writing an entry in a notebook. However, Kira isn't a normal serial killer, and it is in no way a remotely normal case; I should have paid more attention to that fact."

Light Yagami couldn't accept defeat. "The notes I was writing were observations Misora made about Kira and the conclusions that she drew from them. I never told you about them because when I finally met you, those conclusions had already been reached."

"Still playing on that alibi, what do you think happened to Naomi?"

Light shrugged. "Multiple things: Kira could have run into her—"

"That's what I'm saying."

"—someone who _isn't_ me and at a different time in the day, she could have been threatened or blackmailed, or she always could have committed suicide."

L turned to fully face his rival, sighing loudly and slouching over even more, hands still in his pockets. "I have worked with Naomi Misora on certain cases, and I can say with ninety-four percent certainty that she is not the kind of person to give into threats or commit suicide. That explanation really isn't a worthy representation of your skills, Light."

He could feel his temper rising, a rarity for Light. When he got mad, it was usually fueled by logic, not emotions. "Oh yeah? Well, you're one to talk! You come up here, using someone else's identity to accuse me of murder, even though that person's dead. Some impersonator you are!" He took two steps forward, bridging the distance between them with his fist raised and teeth barred like a wild animal. "You even got the damn colors wrong!"

Moving on momentum, he aimed his punch at L's face, planning to break his nose or dislocate his jaw. It brought him pleasure to watch his fist make contact with the left side of L's jawbone. A mere instant later, Light's expression changed to surprise as he saw his punch follow through. His hand to his mid-forearm disappeared, passing through his intended target as if the skin, bones, muscles, and blood were mist.

Lips parted slightly, Light stared dumbfounded at the person in front of him, who was watching the teen's arm for movement. Neither one so much as twitched until L reached up, pushing Light's arm to the side with the back of his hand. The brunette just gasped; he saw a hand touch his skin, but it only felt like a slightly chilled…_presence_, or force of some sort.

His limb succumbed to gravity, falling back to his side as burgundy eyes glared and most likely singed a few strands of cobalt hair.

"Messed up colors, huh?" L thought out loud, partly to himself. "So you can see them too?" Spinning around, he asked, "Shinigami?"

"Heh heh, yep. Definitely a spirit."

"As I thought." He nodded to Ryuk, who was still lying on the bed, enjoying the entertainment. Light did nothing, feeling a bit betrayed.

L turned back, returning Light's gaze. "Another reason I know you are Kira, since you will not confess to the myriad of facts that actually include a confession from you, is that simple gut feeling that humans have. Do you remember what it was like to be human?" he asked suddenly, but quickly looked away and continued without an answer. "Since you killed me, everyone I look at has a color associated with them; their hair and eyes are that color, and it seems to reflect their personality. My color is obviously blue, a deep sapphire or cobalt, which you can decipher however you want.

"When I look at you—!" Light found a pale face once again uncomfortably close to his own and instinctively took a step back. The teen was still trying to piece together a logical explanation for everything, but was nowhere near success. "Your irises, your hair, your overall aura: red. Dark ruby. Bright scarlet. The color of glittering blood on a knife."

Head cocked, he asked, unblinking, "Now why would anyone's very essence be soaked in blood if they weren't a killer?"

Light ground his teeth together. He felt cornered, up against the wall and surviving by the little strength he had left. There was no way he was going to give up with so much more he could do. L's staring caused him to panic a bit, so all he could say was, "Red, huh? …Ironic."

A light knocking whipped the teen's head around. "Light?" his sister asked from behind the closed door, sounding a bit worried. Light glanced at L for a second before he unlocked the door. It swung halfway open as Sayu peeked in. "Light, are you alright? You've been making a lot of noise up here lately."

"I'm fine, Sayu. You don't have to worry about me." He knew that she couldn't see Ryuk, but he wasn't sure about the other being in the room.

Sayu smiled a bit as she look her brother over. No matter how good he got at hiding his feelings, she could always tell when he was frustrated or distressed. "It's L, isn't it?" She watched his eyes widen in some sort of surprise as he glanced behind him. "Dad said you two were close friends. Even if you won't admit it, I think you're taking this harder than the others, but you still have us."

Before he knew it, Sayu had her arms around him in a hug that would have choked him if Light was shorter. "You'll remember that, won't you?"

The slight shock helped calm him; at least until L appeared next to them. "Aw, such a sweet sister you have, Light-kun."

Anxious to get his rival as far away from him as possible, Light gave Sayu a pat on the head and said, "I'll be fine."

"Can you promise me that?" she asked, looking up at him. "You're not going to stress out or hurt yourself trying to get revenge or anything?"

He could have laughed at that, but he just smiled. "I promise."

"Good!" She let go of her brother and half-skipped down the hall to her room. "Mom says not to stay up too late!"

"Okay."

The door was closed and locked once again. Light stood in front of the sleek wood, not looking at the ghost behind him.

"Alright, L," he muttered in a somewhat dangerous tone, "I have to believe you are the shade of the detective, don't I?"

He could tell that the spirit was expecting something: there was a tense chill in the air. "Your voice implies that you are now forced to believe in the supernatural after tonight, am I right?"

Light turned on him, anger sharpening his already narrowed eyes. "Your form. Your somewhat-physical form," the teen hissed, barely understanding what he was saying. "No hologram exists in the modern era that is both intangible and able to affect outside objects. Without a hologram, the only other options are that you really are L, only as a ghost, or—"

"A figment of your imagination?" L watched Light's every move like a hawk. "Now you must be really insane to even suggest that option: Kira imagines his dead rival has come back and continues to hunt him. You must be very paranoid then. Isn't there some medication for that?"

"Shut up, and start giving me some clear answers."

Meticulous eyes never left the teenager's face as L sauntered across the room to stand in front of him. Light took note that he walked _through_ the corner of the desk rather than around it. "You didn't deny that you were Kira," the detective mused.

"Repeatedly denying it would only make me look guilty," he followed suit. One more chance. He had one last chance to walk away from this scot-free.

"Oh?" L tilted his head, his cobalt hair looking translucent when it caught the light. "Do you know what else makes you look guilty?"

A moment passed. "What?"

Pale lips twitched into a victorious smirk. "There is a Death Note on your desk."

**Dun dun dun! Light looks like he's screwed in this case. ...or is he?! Well, yeah, he is; there's no way he's going to get L to leave him alone at this point, or else there wouldn't be a story.**

**This isn't actually where I wanted to end this chapter, but as I filled up page six with text, I realized where I wanted to end was at least four more pages worth of writing away. So this chapter ends here, and will (hopefully!) soon continue with chapter number six!**

**(Edit 12/15/13: I just went through and weeded out some tiny errors in these five chapters. I haven't forgotten this story, I promise! The next chapter is already partially written!)**

**~Silvershadow471 **


	6. Complications

**What has it been, a year and a half? My, how the time flies…heheh…. :/**

_Death Note…on my desk…._

It took only a second for the words to make sense in Light's mind. The shock broke his collected character, and he couldn't stop himself from glancing over to his left. Sure enough, the solid ebony cover stared back, laying on his desk. The absolute contrast in the title scrawled over the top made it practically impossible to _not_ know it was a shinigami's notebook.

_L…is dead. He should be dead. But he's back! _His insanity, slowly coming away from its restraints in the back of his consciousness, laughed at his situation. _Haha… He's back for me, and only me! He knows! He knows… Of all things, I left the notebook out…_

It only lasted a moment, but Light snapped back to reality and glared at the detective. If he lost it now, he could be on death row in an hour, and then he would never reach supremacy.

"I know you are trying to think of another excuse for having that notebook within your room, but you won't be able to." Once again, Light could not shake those cobalt eyes; now L didn't even need to blink. He watched him, pressuring the teenager to challenge him, to choose his next words carefully. "Check and mate, Light-kun. You are Kira. Case closed."

He tried to stay calm; he really did, but his frustration boiled over into a rage that only wanted to break L's constant stare, to force him to look away with one deft swing. He kept reminding himself that he already failed at doing that once, and there was no way he was going to make a fool of himself by trying again.

Shaggy hair fell into his eyes as the detective's head tipped to one side. A ghost of a smirk, a _victorious_ smirk, appeared on his lips.

Irritated, Light responded to buy a precious minute. "You have no proof."

"This is just repetitive, now, Light," sighed L. "Of course you remember when I found you in Kanto. Kira's killing schedule matched that of a student, and the change in that pattern meant Kira had access to police files, and so forth. There are enough similarities between you and the killer to finally end this case."

"Oh yeah? Try going to the police with that. Mere coincidences," Light scoffed.

L _finally_ closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Come now, I thought it was a well-known fact that I am dead, and even though I'm here right now, you know that I cannot interact with the world."

Light froze, his mind snapping back to its usual speed. _Of course…. He's dead, and the dead can't interact with the living. The only reason I can see him is possibly the Note, which must also be why he can touch me. But as a ghost, he can't do anything._

"You _can't_ go to the police," he realized, that fact giving him a foothold on the situation. "Of course you can't; you're not a physical entity. Even if you did have proof, you couldn't bring it forward."

"Unfortunately, no, I couldn't." The spirit did not seem surprised, nor did he appear threatened by Light's advantage. Instead, he was watching for his opponent's response, as if he had been waiting for him to come to this conclusion.

Light thought he had a definite victory, but if L was already aware of his setbacks, then why did he even come back? Was it just to confirm Kira's identity to set his soul to rest? No, he had that figured out when he died. Hell, he had suspected the perfect, straight-A student from the start.

He went with what he had. "No one else can see you, so even though you were right about everything, no one will ever know." He spoke slowly, dropping his façade and allowing a sardonic grin to cross his face. "This epilogue may have been a surprise, but I still win, L. You were a marvelous adversary, but unless you come bearing a 'Life Note,' I think you're done."

His opponent was still for a moment before he lifted a hand to thumb his lower lip. A smile didn't even bother trying to hide itself behind his hand. "That's all I needed to hear," he said softly, watching the victory drain from Light's face.

In the silence, they heard a quiet wheezing, which in no time developed into an overzealous cackle. Such a cacophony coming from his shinigami bothered Light, returning his previous anxiety and trepidation. Ryuk's mirth meant there was still something else that he couldn't see….

L stepped towards him, causing him to shift back. "'_Why is he here?_' you're wondering right about now," he stated, stepping a second time. "You're thinking, 'No one can see him. He can't talk to people. He can't even interact with the world.'"

Step. "Why am I here? Because of the Note."

Step. "You forget that _you_ can see me."

Step. "I am talking to you right now."

Step. "And I was able to touch you, wasn't I?"

With another step, Light was against the wall with cobalt eyes in front of him. "So I can still win, so long as you go to the police yourself and confess."

The teen swallowed. Such confidence threatened to make him nervous, so he smirked to cover it. "Oh yeah?" he countered with more gusto than he felt. "What makes you think I would ever do that? I still have a mission to complete."

L did not respond, watching Light for his next movement. Light couldn't break his stare, and under it his cover crumbled. He glared back, feeling literally and mentally cornered and unable to see a way to best the situation. The room still echoed with demonic laughter, a macabre but fitting atmosphere that further unsettled him. _What does that blue-eyed panda of a ghost have up his sleeve?_

Then he froze.

His chest felt cold. The sensation quickly spread through his skin, into his stomach and shoulders. Finally, he realized L's hand was pushing against him, right over his heart, and even through his shirt, he could tell that the form did not have blood pumping through it's flesh. It might not have even _been_ flesh; it felt too cold to be so.

"What…?" Light breathed, finding it difficult to muster the energy to speak. He had never felt so cold, and it was making him more lethargic by the second.

Stealing a glance up at the elder, he saw the mask of indifference that he loathed so much, save for slightly narrowed eyes that revealed bits of emotion: malice, curiosity, and a suppressed sadness.

A flicker in those blue eyes was the only warning Light got before the hand slipped, sinking _into_ his chest. He gasped, eyes wide and vision blurring. He wanted to pull away, to get away from that uncomfortable, unnatural feeling, as if mud were slipping through his skin. It only made the cold worse: his heart had turned to ice and had frozen the blood throughout his whole body.

"Do you know why you're going to turn yourself in?" the shade asked _sotto voce_. Light couldn't answer; he couldn't even shudder at the sensation, and he barely had enough energy to look at the other.

"I think you know why."

Then L blurred, and his form dissolved and dissipated before Light's eyes.

It offered not even a moment's relief before he felt as though he had jumped into ice water. Every hair, every pore on his skin prickled, his body freezing more than he thought possible, his throat, his neck and back chilling to the point of burning.

And just as it happened, he quickly lost all feeling and senses, and his world went black.

* * *

_Nnggh…._

_Sun, just shut up already…._

Light groaned as he rolled over, arm shielding his eyes from the sunshine spilling through his window. The bed creaked softly under him, and the movement folded and creased the relatively neat blankets.

Even though he was just pulled out of a dreamless sleep, it only took his brilliant mind a few seconds to realize something wasn't right.

_I don't remember falling asleep last night,_ Light thought. His arm slid away as his eyes began to adjust to the morning sun. _Wait,_ he noticed, _I had a button-down on last night. I'm wearing a tee now._

Curiosity and confusion rising, he struggled to sit up on the edge of his mattress. His hand found the corner of the blankets and threw them against the wall behind him, intending to fix them later.

Instead of his tan slacks from yesterday, sweatpants covered his legs. The teen recalled putting a few pairs near the front of his closet for the coming winter months. Even though he didn't remember changing clothes, he was glad he did; he was cold, and his bare fingertips and toes were close to numb.

Rather than get up right away, Light tried to remember what had happened last night. After talking with his friends, he had come home to a special dinner...in honor of L. Yeah, L definitely had _something_ to do with it... But what? A dull throbbing in the back of his head kept his thoughts muddled, and it doubled in magnitude whenever he thought of the shaggy-haired detective. _But why is it that I remember him with...blue hair?_

The teen groaned and pushed himself into a standing position. He swayed a bit, unstable, before heading to the bathroom across the hall. His limbs felt slow and too heavy, and if he wasn't overworking his brain by trying to piece together the events of the previous night, he would give in and go back to sleep.

Closing the door behind him, Light gripped the edges of the sink, glad to be able to rest some of his weight on its surface. He still was missing something crucial: declared something that sounded more 'Light' than 'Kira' to his father, went to his room, wrote in the notebook, conversed with Ryuk—speaking of which, where was the shinigami?—and then...he saw someone.

The throbbing in his head stopped abruptly, causing the teen to sigh in relief. He tore his eyes from the white porcelain of the sink and glanced up at the mirror...and couldn't look away.

His reflection had crimson hair and blood red eyes.

He pulled back in surprise, right arm whipping in front of his face on reflex. At least...

That's what he instinctively wanted to do. But he was stuck in place.

A frigidness bloomed at the base of his skull, spreading through his head and dripping down his spine, extending into each finger, every muscle, and in a matter of moments he was completely numb. Light wanted to blink, to run away, to avoid staring at this unfamiliar reflection, but he was helpless, bound by some invisible force. And that started to scare him.

But then Light felt a shift, a slight twitch in his form that was not dictated by him, and he saw all emotion in his face evaporate.

His eyes were flooded with cobalt, washing away the blood.

_What the hell is this?_ Light attempted to yell, but when the action was not mimicked by his mouth, the lack of control discouraged him. _Can't move, can't talk, and now I'm seeing things!_

"There's no need to shout," he heard his own voice reply quietly. "I would still hear your thoughts if you whispered them, or the mental equivalent, at least."

The teen reeled back, 'paling' from the sensation: His body just answered him, no longer responding to his control and acting on its own. Or under someone else...

It seemed preposterous, but his new hair color, and those blue eyes, cobalt eyes staring at his reflection, evaluating him—

It clicked. Last night, L returned as a spirit, and then Light remembered he did...something. _This_ something. But he had to be sure.

_L, did you possess me?_

_Ah, very good, Light-kun._ L's voice rang through his mind, confirming the teenager's suspicions. _It is a bit surreal to have to analyze a situation on the supernatural plane, but you are correct._

Light scowled as L continued in his monotonous, confident way. _As it turns out, much of the lore on ghosts and shades of the dead is true. I cannot interact with normal people, but because you are my murderer, you can see me. My form is intangible, but instead of passing through you, I was able to move your arm. Now that I am one hundred percent certain that you are Kira, I can't just let you walk free while I watch. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if this would work._

It couldn't be. He would not believe it. He couldn't lose to something as _irrational_ as spiritual possession. _I must be dreaming,_ Light muttered.

"That's what they all say, Light-kun," L sighed, speaking aloud again, which only further grounded Kira in his disadvantageous situation. He finally moved, leaning the teenaged body towards the mirror. The fingers twitched and rose to glide over the jaw line. "It's a bit cliché at this point, don't you think?"

_Stop that._ Light was seething, his temper rising every time he heard his own voice talk to him or watched his limbs move without his consent. _There's no way any human was meant to go through something like this._

"Possibly."

_This is cruel and unusual punishment!_

"Mm-hmm…," L hummed as he picked up a brush, lazily running it through the nest of hair on his head, watching the mirror with those cobalt eyes, those hazy, unnaturally azure, _alien_ eyes….

_You bastard!_

The hand stopped. Fingers uncurled at awkward angles, letting the brush fall and clatter into the sink.

Light scowled, having to focus just to keep control over his hand. It felt as though a flame was under his fingertips, just barely warming his skin. He couldn't move it, but at least he could hold it in place. _I said stop that._

L looked at the limb before staring back into the mirror, coolly, collectedly, yet with obvious threat. Light hated that, but he would have maliciously returned the same look if he could. _Like such a pretentious ass, you're acting like you've won, _he growled, _but don't forget that this is _my_ body, a fact that will still stand whether you're here or not._

Neither moved, each watching the other through the mirror.

After a tense minute, a light but pronounced smirk adorned the features of the blue-eyed being in the glass. "I see you've thrown down the gauntlet," the shade muttered. "I'll be seeing you around, Light Yagami."

And with that, the blue in his eyes faded back to maroon, and then the hazy color disappeared altogether. Warm blood ran under his skin once more, his heart racing faster than normal as he hyperventilated from the shock of being thrust back into control. Quickly, he thought over the drastic turn of events presented in the last twelve hours, weighing his new odds.

Light took a deep breath, leaning on the sink, still staring into the mirror, and then he slowly breathed out.

He could lose. He could be facing _death._ For the first time in a long while, he felt fear.

…**I had a perfect ending to this chapter, but then I had to run and didn't have time to write it down, and now I've forgotten it. :(**

**And now, the hard part: I actually have to outline the rest of this story. I only had the idea up until this point, but now I need to think of where this plot is going. Good thing I have the summer to work on my writing. (among other things, too….)**

**~S**


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